The Chemist Always Wins

Idiot Nation.

You all know what I'm talking about. 2004. The biggest come back ever. Kevin Millar's Jack Daniels shots. Pokey's flip. Mientkiewicz's own hidden ball trick. Johnny Damon's hair.

The players involved in the Red Sox' 2004 World Series victory had the most chemistry, camaraderie, togetherness, stick-to-it-iveness, goofiness and team-wide buffoonery that I have ever seen in my sports viewing lifetime. But you know what? It worked perfectly.

All those guys trusted each other and they would have gone to Hell and back for anyone, even for Curtis Leskanic. (Maybe they would have left Nomar there to rot, but you get the point.) These guys had the ultimate chemistry going.

I think the Sox were down 15 games-to-one in a best-of-31 series, Millar still would have said "give us game 17, then we go home for eight more, then we win all those, get to game 31 eventually, and you never know what'll happen... Don't give us the chance..."

Millar was a whack job then, and he still is now, but that's almost what a team needs. We'll call him a "loosener-upper." His job is to, when shit gets tight around the clubhouse, give himself a wedgie, make a joke about the second baseman's facial hair, make everyone laugh and that reminds them just to play baseball.

We have one on the McKay Club, and his name is Brad Gerbus. He's our Kevin Millar. We could be getting no-hit and losing by 10 runs, but he'd be out there, laughing it up, making some insane out-of-deep-left-field comment that had absolutely nothing to do with baseball and talking about some sexual experience from a few years ago that he can't fully remember. The guys is a goof. But aside from that, he's a very good baseball player and he keeps us loose and he contributes to that chemistry that can never be fully explained.

I mean, how do you think the Colorado Rockies made it to the World Series in 2007? Sure, they got hot, but they were able to run it off because their team was so closely knit. They all trusted each other, picked each other up, everyone had confidence through the roof and there were no cancerous players in the club house.


The Yawkey League is no different. In order to win, you need (talent, obviously. and) that close knit group of guys that has been jelling for either four months or four years, doesn't matter to me. If there is trust, mutual respect, an even level of confidence throughout the whole team and an eagerness to win, success will follow close behind.

I just have a quick story before I get to the Pitcher and Hitter of the Week awards. (if you're reading this, thank you for not scrolling down to the awards section.)


I was talking to a former member of the McKay Club today. He plays for the Malden Bulldogs and wears number 4. Well, he does now. At the beginning of the season, catcher Joey Eugenio had the number and actually sacrificed it to him (for a bag of chew in return) since he had been in the league a lot longer. It was a show of class, a show of reverence and respect and it no doubt helped the chemistry on the team.

When it came to pitcher and catcher of the week, it just happened that the two guys that won are good chemistry guys, guys who sacrifice, and who understand what it means to win and lose as a team.

I could use a lot of superlatives and adjectives to describe the way Adam Del Rio pitches. Nasty is a good one. Del Rio, after having surgery on his knee last season to repair a torn ACL, has come back this year and shown the league what he is made of. It's not quite plutonium, but something very hostile and deadly.

"Donkey" Del Rio, as his coach and players like to call him (because he just acts like a donkey, apparently) is the first YBL pitcher to make two appearances on the bump in one week and win the POW award.

Del Rio made two starts last week -- against the Brighton Braves and Medford Mad Dogs -- and dazzled in both. Last Tuesday the 17th, The Donkey muled his way to five innings of one-hit ball against the Braves. No hits through four, then a "blooper" to start the fifth. He didn't walk a batter and he struck out 10 Braves. He got the win, as the Bulldogs plated five and held Brighton scoreless the rest of the way.

Later in the week, on three days of rest, Del Rio took the mound against the Medford Mad Dogs and led his breed past Medford's in a decisive 14-1 drubbing. The Donkey once again went five innings, giving up four hits, one unearned run, and one walk. He didn't record a strikeout, but when your team plates three runs in the first inning and 13 after three, the idea is to let the other team hit the ball, so he did just that.

Total for the week: 10 IP, 10 K, 1 BB, 5 H (four singles) and two wins.

Del Rio moves to 4-0 in four starts this season, accruing 23 K's in 22 innings, while walking only four batters and having a 0.63 ERA. Goodness gracious, those are gaudy numbers.

While on the topic of things of a gaudy nature, Tony Iafolla is doing his best to tear the cover off the baseball right now. In medias res an 11-game hit-streak, the Brighton Brewers catcher and team stalwart has been swinging his best bat in the last week.

The Yawkey League All-Star played in four games last week (the Brew Crew won three of them) and put together a line usually only seen in MLB 2K8: 7-for-15 (.466 ba), 9 rs, 7 RBIs, 4 bb, 2 2b, 1 3b, 1 hr and a slugging percentage of .883. Now that's carrying your team to victory, if I've ever seen it.

The 11-game hit-streak is just as impressive as the last week of games for this Brighton beast. The Brewers clean-up hitter has flaunted a .463 (19-for-41) batting average during the streak and has racked up five doubles, 12 RBIs and 16 runs scored. Want another impressive number? Only six times has Iafolla struck out during the streak, and never more than once in one game.

Now only if one of these teams could knock off Somerville....

Crooked Voters! Bah!

I thought popularity contests ended in high school.

But they didn't. I've learned this as I've matured; that life is full of popularity contests and a great example of this is voting for any All-Star team. In particular, for Major League Baseball's All-Star teams.

Just because Japan's population is roughly 137 million (holy crap sprawl!), that doesn't give them the right to overload MLB.com with internet votes for Hideki Matsui, Ichiro Suzuki and Daisuke Matsuzaka (even though I'm a Red Sox fan).
There have been two or three years when Ichiro deserved to be All-Star bound, and he was. But there have also been two years that his numbers weren't All-Star caliber, but he started because of the Japanese population's absurdly frequent voting online.

The Japanese aren't getting singled out. There are plenty of other players who are/were voted into All-Star games when they did not deserve to be. Manny Ramirez in 2007 is a great example. Pre-All-Star break, Manny was hitting under .300 with 11 dingers and 45 batted in. Not All-Star numbers by any means, but with his reputation, there he was, on the team for his 11th go-around.

Pudge Rodriguez is the classic example. At the break last season, the Indians' Victor Martinez had more hits, home runs and runs batted in than Pudge (not to mention he smoked the Tiger in batting average too), but the well-known, perennial All-Star catcher got the knod and Martinez was on the All-Star bench.

It should have been the other way around, but the "fans" that vote for All-Star teams are just that: Fans. And fans of their own teams first.

I'm a Red Sox fan through and through, but Manny wasn't on my ballot in 2007, and for good reason. There were other, more deserving candidates who would cherish the opportunity 1,000 times more than Manny. And I love Manny as a player, but to be frank, it doesn't seem like he cares much about the "All-Star festivities" when that time of year comes around.

Yawkey League All-Star voting might not be on as grand a scale as MLB's, but it would be an honor to see some of the guys I have mentioned the past few weeks get some consideration at their respective positions.

One week's worth of stats shouldn't make an All-Star, but neither should a name.



Hitter and Pitcher of the Week for the week of 6/09 - 6/15

This is a big deal for us, here at Yawkey League News and Action. By us, I mean me, and by big deal, i mean that this week marks the first week there will be co-players of the week in a category. And the two players could not be more different, in terms of league longevity, overall speed and savvy.

Al Becker of the East Boston Blue Fish and Drew Tambling of the McKay Club Beacons have each won half of a Yawkey League News and Action trophy made out of fusilli pasta and pine tar.

Congratulations to both of you.

Both Becker and Tambling had monster weeks for their respective clubs, as each hit .500 or better in their three games. Becker, an elder statesman of the YBL had himself a week for the books.

In three games (all wins, including one over The Somerville Juggernaut) last week, Becker was 6-for-11 (.545 ba) with a double, a triple, a grand slam, five driven in and four scored. He neither struck out nor walked during that span.

Becker, in his last three full seasons with the Bluefish, hit .328 combined; but this season he's at .436 through 11 games and on pace to garner a (wink, wink) spot on the Yawkey League All-Star team.

Tambling, a young first-year player in the Yawkey League got his first taste of success last week by batting .500 (4-for-8) over three games (all wins for the Beacons). Known for his speed and agility, and not home run power, young Andrew drove a ball into the right field lettuce at Brighton's Rogers Park for his first YBL long shot. His line for the week was two home runs (the other was inside-the-park), five RBIs, four runs scored, two steals and one walk.

Playing for UMass Boston this past season, Tambling hit over .300 and stole 10 bags for the Beacons. His background story is an interesting one, and his excursion to the Gay Pride Parade is even more interesting.

The first place Malden Bulldogs now have another accolade to add to their Wall of Fame: A Pitcher of the Week award!

Young Evan Tardungo dealt strikeout hands to the Brighton Black Sox all game last Wednesday, June 11 en route to a complete game four-hitter. The former UMass Boston and Fisher College pitcher allowed only four hits and four walks, while striking out 11 in his second win of the season.

Tardungo is a horse on the mound. In his last three years of collegiate level pitching, the righty has 13 complete games under his belt to go along with 14 wins.

In seven career Yawkey League games and 31 innings pitched, Tardungo has an itty bitty 0.54 ERA to go along with 46 fanned.

This just in: The Malden Bulldogs have a lights out pitching staff.

Boy am I Lazy

Life is busy. We all work for a living, or at least for the summer, those of us in college. Mix work with playing baseball, enjoying life and acting like a college student, and you've got yourself a schedule busier than Bono's.

The point here is that I haven't been holding up my end of the bargain. How are you supposed to enjoy and laugh at my writing when it's not there? My point exactly.






Now that everything is relatively calm, I can dedicate some time to musing about the Yawkey League, our heart and soul (and cause of cerebral hemorrhaging sometimes, too). I mean, we're almost a month into the season and I have made an effort similar to that of Mark Blount after he signed his 6 year, $38.5 million contract a few years back. Kind of hard to do.

What's going to happen is that each week a Committee of One (me) will determine a hitter and pitcher of the week. These are stat-driven and win-related awards so don't expect one if you go 4.1 innings on a gimpy calf or you hit a home run with a sprained left pinky finger. And of course, if you help propel your team to victory, that's a plus.

Winning is the point, after all.

Awards for the week of May 26 - June 1.

The Yawkey League is now officially hot. As the temps creep, so do pitcher's ERAs. And that means offensive production. Seven different games this past week saw one team put up a baker's dozen or more, so that means lots of RBIs and extra-base hits for those of you holding the sticks.

It was a tightly contested race for Hitter of the Week this week, as multiple guys helped mash their respective teams to victory. But when it came down to it, I had to go with a certain high-number wearing New Hampshire-native from Dorchester's own McKay Club Beacons.

From one Beacons uniform (UMass Boston's) to another, Connor Reinfurt has been hitting the ball extremely hard since he came into the Yawkey League two weeks ago. The first baseman/DH had himself a week for the ages.

The majority of the damage off of Renifurt's absurdly large bat came against West Roxbury on May 28, when he launched a grand slam at Ronan Park that cleared the left-centerfield fence by a considerable margin to break open the game.

Renifurt finished the game with two singles, a double, the grand slam and five RBIs. He himself crossed the plate twice too. Number 99 finished the week going 7-for-11 in three games with three runs scored, three extra-base hits and 9 RBIs.

While at UMass Boston this past spring, the 6' 2" 215 pound Reinfurt hit only .206 in 30 games, but led his team with five home runs while driving in 15 runs.







Four starting pitchers eclipsed the 10 strikeout plateau this past week, but only one pitcher K'ed 12 hitters en route to a complete game shutout for his team.

Greg Potts, a rookie in the YBL and a freshman at Bridgewater State, went the distance for the Al Thomas Athletics against the Chelsea Cyclones. The win, his first ever as a Yawkey Leaguer, came at a perfect time, as the Athletics' offense (.247 BA) hasn't been able to pick up much of the slack.

Potts gave up hits over the seven innings, walked two and blew away 12 Cyclones to dominate in his team's 4-0 victory.

The start was important in the big picture too, because Al Thomas had allowed 30 runs the previous two games and the complete game (I'm guessing) gave the A's staff much needed rest.

Potts, a Milton resident, made eight starts for Bridgewater State this past spring, posting a 4-2 record and a 4.85 ERA.

Apparently, he also loves to smile




If you disagree with my assessments of players or teams, feel free to rant and rave below.

Youth Movement, Anybody?

The Beacons started off 2008 with an under-aged Nick O'Keefe throwing slow curves, "nasty" knuckle balls, according to catcher Andy "Deuce" McAllister and a well-spotted fastball. The Anna Maria College freshman, who was 2-2 with a 4.33 ERA in six games this season for the AmCats, fanned 10 in his Yawkey League debut.

O'Keefe walked only one and scattered six hits over six innings before giving way to the cookie monster, Tom Prykucki. Prykucki allowed an unearned run and struck out one to end the game and give the Beacons their first win with their new, younger, more energetic nucleus of players in place.

The offense was led by Dan "I didn't get enough playing time at UMass Boston, so I'm gonna take it out on the Yawkey League" Ciocca. The third baseman had two hits, two RBIs and two runs scored to pace the offense.

Getting Back Into The Swing Of Things

Drum roll please . . .

Cue the trumpets . . .

I know it’s been a while, but I had to make a grand entrance.

After about a two week hiatus from the time of my last blog post, a lot of teammates of mine were asking about the blog.

Where has it been?, they asked me. ‘It’ has been dormant and now that I am back from a short vacation and finally have the energy to string together coherent thoughts, here ‘it’ is.

Dana, you may have been writing more than I have recently and good for you. But now it’s my turn to write and your turn to read. It’s funny though, because when I was writing more consistently, there was rarely a mention of the blog at the games. From time to time, a comment and a remark about it, but nothing over the top. But over the past week, the questions have been rolling in asking where it is, why I haven’t posted any thing lately. Well, if I knew all of you (mostly my teammates and anybody else who happens to browse over it from time to time) read my blog consistently, I would be more inclined to write on a consistent basis. I love writing these things, but if I knew my readership was this large, it would be that much more inclined (don’t worry Deano, I just deflated my head).

Before I get to my main topic, I would like to thank my coach and the host of The Boston Baseball Heads show, Dave McKay for having me on as a guest this past week. Appearing on television and being able to discuss the game of baseball with him, Medford Maddogs pitcher and statistician Sean Gildea and all around baseball mind Al Ditilio was a fantastic experience and I hope to return to the set of the show and make another appearance. Thank you Dave for giving me the opportunity to promote what I am doing right now, I greatly appreciate it.

Now to the matters at hand, what you’re here for.

Since the Yawkey League All-Star break is upon us, I figured it was time to hand out some mid-season awards to our guys. Even though the McKay Club’s record is hovering just over .500 at 13-11, there is plenty to be happy about in the Land of Awards. We have a few athletes in our midst who have been going above and beyond, proving to both our team and to the entire Yawkey League that our McKay Club has some stardom within it.

In the game of baseball, pitching is key to success. You know that. Actually, why am I even telling you this? You already know it. Well, because it needs to be reiterated. The pitching staff of the McKay Club in 2007 has been pretty good overall with our team ERA under three at 2.91, hovering around the middle of the Yawkey League pack.

But there has been one guy who has stood out for us, and more so in recent weeks. He doesn’t have all the innings, or all the strikeouts, or that extra giddy-up on his fastball that some other pitchers may have. But what he may lack in those categories he more than makes up for in his win-loss record, his ERA and his WHIP (walks + hits / innings pitched). Of all the pitchers that have made significant contributions for the McKay Club this season, Adam Kulis is the only one not to have a loss to his credit.

His record stands at 3-0 in four starts and two relief appearances and his ERA is below two at a stymie 1.81. The numbers that really jumped out at me were the minimal walks and low WHIP. In 27 innings pitched Adam has allowed only five walks and his WHIP is .926, good enough for third in the entire Yawkey League. What also stood out to me was his stellar performance against the East Boston Bluefish and Yawkey League K-man Kyle Jones. In the game, Adam needed only 79 pitches to go the distance in a 1-0 quickie of a game in which he allowed only two hits and one walk. Half way through the season, my pitcher of the year for the McKay Club has to be the soon-to-be married Adam Kulis. Good luck with the wedding Adam, and don’t tighten those shackles too much.

Next up for me has to be the defensive whiz of the team. They say it in some professional sports that defense wins championships. In the game of baseball, defense doesn’t single-handedly win them, but it certainly helps a bunch. The teammate I am choosing for this award is probably the best at his position I have ever had the pleasure of playing with. His range is amazing, his jumps on balls are impeccable and it just seems as though every game he makes at least one play where you have to say to yourself ‘wow’.

What Jackie Owens has been lacking at the plate this year he has more than made up for in his stellar defensive play in centerfield. In 19 games so far this season, Jackie has 28 putouts, the most of our outfielders. He has not made an error, or even come close to one for that matter. To his credit he has collected two outfield assists, but could have more than that. Many teams don’t run on his arm for fear of being gunned down. I for one have been saved by Jackie Owens while on the mound more than once this year and I’m sure most of our other pitchers have as well. So I tip my cap to you, Jack, and I thank you for your top-notch play in the outfield. You are the Defensive Whiz of the 2007 season so far.

Did I mention that he’s got a Gold Glove to his credit as well? Icing on the cake baby.

Now, I left the first half MVP for last because I respect him tremendously and I didn’t want you to know who he was until the end. This guy has been doing it all for the McKay Club this season so far. If you play with us, or have played against us, you probably already know who I’m talking about. You might have seen him at first base. Or maybe it was second? Some may have caught a glimpse of him at short or third. If it was early in the season, you caught him in right field or even on the pitcher’s mound.

Yea, he’s even been there.

Versatility aside, Dan Ciocca has been an offensive force this entire season and his numbers back it up. Through 22 games, number 11 has been number one on the McKay Club. Ciocca is batting .379 while slugging a robust .579 thus far. His 19 RBI, not including last night’s game versus West Roxbury landed him third in the Yawkey League. He is also tied for third in the league with seven doubles and has one mammoth homerun against the tops dogs of the league Somerville.

All the versatility in the infield hasn’t hurt his defense either, as Ciocca has only committed five errors while collecting 35 assists (first on the team) and 34 put outs (second on the team).

The majority of Dan’s RBI’s have been difference makers in games as well. Any time there is a big spot for him to plate a few runs, he’s there to get the job done, just ask the opposing team. Now, some of this credit has to go to the three gentlemen (and it pains me to call them gentlemen by the way) ahead of him in the line-up. Dana Levensaler, Rob Linn and Chris Deane have been getting on base for Danny so he has these RBI opportunities. I know I would have heard it from at least two of them if their names were not mentioned within this piece. Ever since our line up was shuffled to get Ciocca in the clean-up spot, it has been nothing but good news for us and bas news for opposing pitchers. The first half MVP of the McKay Club goes to Mr. Versatility himself, Dan Ciocca. Just don’t let him be your wingman and Tom English’s. Just ask Dana.

Oh So Perfect

Time for a bit of Yawkey League house cleaning here on the Boston Boy’s Sports Page. Not even a month and a half into the 2007 Yawkey League season, we have already seen one no-hitter by Sean Sullivan of the McKay Club Beacons. He threw against the Cambridge Spinners, striking out 11 in his seven innings of no-hit work.

On Saturday afternoon at damp, cool Trum Field Marc DesRoches threw the Yawkey League’s first perfect game of the 2007 season. He threw against the Brighton Braves, achieving his perfecto status in only 73 pitches, while striking out 10.

This was DesRoches’ third start of the season and the second start in which he has yet to allow a run. Currently, His ERA stands at a dental floss-thin 0.41, making even Paris Hilton’s waistline jealous. DesRoches has been one of the best Yawkey League pitchers not only this year, but for the last three seasons as well. In 97.2 career Yawkey League innings Marc DesRoches has a whittled-down ERA of 0.50 while striking out 131 batters and allowing only 44 hits. In his three plus years of service for the Somerville Alibrandis, DesRoches has a record of 15-2 with three saves in the regular season.

What makes Marc DesRoches the best player in the Yawkey League is not just his pitching prowess but his offensive production. While throwing his perfect game, DesRoches went 2-3 at the plate with a double, a triple, four RBI’s and a run scored to help lead his team to the 7-0 win. DesRoches is batting .379 this season, which is actually below his career .393 average. With 76 RBI’s in 91 career Yawkey League games, I think it’s safe to say that you just don’t see players like this come around everyday, whether it be in the Yawkey League or anywhere else for that matter.

Number 514 may not be of too much relevance to you, or to you, or to you either. It wasn’t to me either until Dan Mahoney of the Brighton Brewers got selected by the New York Yankees in the 16^th round of the 2007 MLB draft at number 514. congratulations to Dan and I hope the best for him. And when I say that, I hope that the Yankees trade him away as part of a package deal so that he never has to wear those dreaded pin stripes. Could you just imagine the range of emtions this kid felt as the New York New York Yankees drafted him?

‘Wait, so I just got drafted by Major League Baseball?’ WOW!

‘What’s that you say? It was by the New York Yankees?’

‘I want to be traded.’

No-No's, Cold Weather and Offense Galore

June 3^rd. A Sunday evening. One would think that in Boston, you could relax for a few hours watching a good ole’ Yawkey League baseball game in just a shirt and pants, maybe a jacket if there was a breeze blowing off of Dorchester Bay. Not last night though.

If I were to look behind me into the bleachers last night, I would have seen two girls huddled up in a blanket like a couple hotdogs. It was cold. It was windy at times. It was wet. It was Field of Dreams meets Gorillas in the Mist last night at Ronan Park. Most of the time, for my teammates and I anyways, we didn’t notice the cold, or the wet or the wind. We were too busy winning.

Back to back games against the sub par Chelsea Nationals this weekend provided two wins for our McKay Club Beacons as we brought our record to an acceptable 6-4. Now, these Chelsea Nationals are anything but national. Come to think of it, we can compare them to the Washington Nationals of MLB. They’re a lower level Yawkey League team, but we don’t play the games on paper, as they say, so wins are wins. We needed to win those games. And win we did.

We won with pitching, we won with hitting. But most importantly, we won our games by playing solid defense behind our pitchers. These last two games have produced only three errors, a more acceptable number than the 11 we committed previous to the weekend of the home-and-home series versus the Nationals.

Why the turn around in defensive play you might ask? More practice? Nah. Mr. Iverson said it all. "We talkin’ ‘bout practice?" What has made the difference is one of the newest members of our team, Shawn Raposo. Raposo can play three infield positions (shortstop, second base, third base) and his presence at the hot corner these last two games has made a huge difference in the way our infield in constructed. He takes pressure off Jake Souto and Dan Ciocca and makes our defense much improved.

Sunday night in the mist, Ciocca and Souto turned the niftiest double play I’ve seen in quite some time. If I remember correctly, it was a web gem on Baseball Tonight last night. Here’s how it went down. There was a bounding ball to shortstop that Ciocca had to wait on, he played the high hop, shot it over to Souto covering the bag where he bare-handed it ala Roberto Alomar circa 1995 and threw on to first baseman John Rutkauskas for the twin killing. It was velvety smooth.

What’s really been making headlines for the McKay Club is the offense. Yea, that offense. The one that struggled mightily at times in 2006. How about leading the league in batting average, hits and runs scored now? Much better? I thought so too. As of right now, the McKay Club has nine players hitting over .300 with Dana Levensaler leading the way at a robust .533, putting him eighth overall in the Yawkey League. Dana, Rob Linn, Chris Deane, Dan Ciocca, Deuce McAllister and the rest of the McKay Club have all been driving the ball, producing runs and playing to win.

Speaking of producing runs, I need to give John Rutkauskas lots of credit for laying down a gorgeous bunt last night on a squeeze play. John has been struggling to find his groove at the plate so far this season, but he plays hard all the time, is a beast in the field and hopefully that bunt can give him the boost he needs to start hitting like we all know he can.

7 innings pitched. 1 run. 2 walks. 11 strikeouts. NO hits allowed. Big congratulations to Sean Sullivan, our token redhead and staff ace for tossing only the second no-hitter in McKay Club history. John Nee was the only other player to do so, accomplishing the feat in 2005 against the West Roxbury Devils. Even though Sully was mildly agitated with the sub par defense behind him, he overpowered the free-swinging Cambridge Spinners for seven innings.

Contrary to what Sully may think, he couldn’t have done it without the defense behind him, as they made some key plays to keep the feat intact. I have a feeling that we may see another one of these performances out of Sean before the season is over. With his overpowering fastball and knee-buckling curveball, he is certainly a no-hitter waiting to happen in the Yawkey League. Hey Sean, next time, we’ll try and help you with a perfect game.

The McKay Club Beacons are Officially Fun to Watch

Well then, back to business as usual. Memorial Day has come and gone. And what a Memorial Day it was. In Boston, we saw weather with timing as impeccable as the Boston Red Sox offense. And speaking of those Red Sox, they just keep sweeping right along as the New York Yankees keep getting swept away.

I’m sure that McKay Club outfielder Dana Levensaler won’t be too happy about the Yankees, but he has a team closer to his heart than those hapless Bronx Bombers. And that team would be our McKay Club Beacons. Dana has been a great example of how this team has already seemed to have come together more cohesively this season that at any point during all of last season.

This past Friday night proved to be a prime example of how this team sticks together and, above all else, just wants to win and have a great time doing it. I mean, how many times do you see a team get three runners gunned down, at home plate have you, and still end up pulling out the win, 8-4? If you were thinking ‘not too often,’ then you were right.

I digress. Dana is an old man. It had to be said. Now for the good part. He is an old man who can swing one hell of a bat, even under the weather. Suffering from a neck injury that, earlier in the day had limited him from scoping women on Newbury Street in Boston, came through with three hits in our 8-4 come-from-behind victory. Two of the three hits Dana delivered were a few of the hottest, hardest scorched balls I have seen in my two years in the Yawkey League.

That’s just one of the many finer points from Friday night that I believe solidified our team and put into our minds that, much like the 2007 Red Sox team, this team can come from behind, score runs and win games with ability and with timely hitting. This year, more hits seem to be falling and the stats are showing it.

Through six games, the Beacons’ offense has been putting out like a, um, well you guys know here I’m going with that one. I’ll just leave it at that. The team is currently ranked fifth or better in team batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, OPS (ob-base-plus-slugging for those of you who might not know) doubles, hits and runs scored. Now, some of these stats may have been inflated by the eight-run, 17 hit performance on Friday night at Towne Field, but I can say this much. This team, as constituted, is much more gifted offensively than last year, and I don’t mean gifted in a special-ed kind of way either.

Last season, I looked at Dan Ciocca as a pitcher first, and an offensive player second. This season, not so much. Ciocca has absolutely been hitting the cover off of the ball, spraying hits to all gaps and fields so far this season. His biggest hit of the young season by far occurred after an intentional walk of Chris Deane to load the bases. Fearing the Yawkey League power threat, Savin Hill chose to pitch to Dan Ciocca instead of Deane and he made them pay for it big time. That was the biggest hit of the season so far for the team, as it gave us a 5-4 lead that would not be relinquished.

What allowed us to come from behind, and what will allow us to come from behind again and again is the pitching. Adam Kuils, Friday’s starter, didn’t get the win that he deserved, but he pitched well enough for it and that’s what has happened for the most part this season. Good pitching performances by the group I am officially deeming The Four Horsemen have allowed us to rank seventh in the Yawkey League in ERA while allowing only 10 earned runs while striking out 40 in 41 innings. The Four Horseman are as follows: Sean Sullivan, Adam Kulis, Dan Ciocca and Ryan Thomas. With three consistent starters and one very reliable bullpen arm, this team is poised to shut down opposing offenses and win ball games.

The only troublesome area, the one that may have cost us a game or two already, is the defense. In particular the infield. Now i’m not pointing fingers, but the infielders have allowed all 11 errors so far this season, leading to our rank of 13^th in the Yawkey League in fielding percentage. What can be done to fix this? A longer infield practice before games, or games of pepper to strengthen muscle memory and reflexes? Sure, whatever works. Maybe the kinks are out and more ground balls will start finding gloves. I’m an optimist, what can I say?

With a 3-3 record, a top-five offense and solid pitching, I can’t bitch about much. Yes, the defense needs a little bit of work. That will come. The important part is that, as of now, we know how to win and we believe that we can win no matter what. Three run deficit in the seventh? Big deal. With Chris Deane, Rob Linn, Dana Levensaler and Dan Ciocca in the middle of the line-up, bring on your closer. Or your starter after six innings. I know we can win and my team mates know we can win. Come to the games and watch, drink with us afterwards at Tom English’s Pub and enjoy the ride.

Reflections of a pitcher

As I sat on the bench at Trum Field in Somerville Tuesday night I had a chance to reflect back somewhat on last season. The weather was nice on Tuesday night, somewhat windy and partly cloudy. And dry. Ask anyone who was there, they saw the dustbowl-esque clouds of faux infield blowing around making the air cloudy and the view impaired. For whatever reason, after I made my appearance in the game and as I was sitting on the bench, I began to think about last season, how it went, how we have improved our team and why we will be better this season than last.

Baseball is a game of adjustments. As an athlete and baseball player, one has to look upon themselves with a judging eye and ask what am I doing, how can I do it better and how can I improve on my game? Whether it is a pitcher making mechanical adjustments in their delivery, a batter tweaking his stance just the slightest bit to create better bat speed or enable them to see the ball better, or a fielder changing his footwork or working on taking better routes to the ball, the game of baseball means constant change. It’s Darwin’s theory of evolution in a way. Change or perish, it’s as simple as that.

Last season can’t be looked at as a success, that’s for sure. But looking back on last season and looking at what we had constituted on the field Tuesday night against the uber-dynasty known as the Somerville Alibrandis, I came to the realization that we are a much better ball club. Win or lose Tuesday night, that wasn’t important, it was elementary. What Tuesday night did for me, and I’m sure for the rest of our team, was that it gave us a chance to gauge what we had and where we needed to be, going forward.

I saw Sean Sullivan pitch three innings. He has a small rib cage tendon issue, so he’s not 100%. It didn’t matter though because for three innings, he threw very well and I’m sure he impressed everyone on each side of the infield. The mere fact that he only threw five innings for his Bridgewater State College team this season bodes extremely well for us. He is very fresh and I for one can’t wait for the regular season to start because when Rusty, or Big Red, or Sully, or whatever you choose to call him is on his game, not even the Alibrandis can make him flinch.

After Sully threw his three innings, he was followed by Adam Kulis for one inning, Ryan Thomas for two, Geoff Wiech for an inning and then, I’m sorry for this, a new addition to our team threw the last inning of relief. Your name escapes me right now, you can chastise me for it later on. The end result was a 2-0 defeat, but I don’t think it was a defeat at all. What I saw on the field on Tuesday night made he happy, excited, intrigued, and most of all – it made me confident. Confident that the team Dave McKay put together for 2007 will be a contender in the Yawkey League.

Our pitching staff is young and ready to go. Sully is our team ace and we all know that. He knows that. (Don’t let it get to your head too much, ok Sull?) Last season was the first for Sully, Adam, Ryan, and Dan Ciocca, whom arguably was the best and most consistent pitcher for us last season. With one year under our belts, this season looks to be better for all of us because we are more comfortable here and we have some experience against the Yawkey League teams.

The addition to the pitching staff that intrigues me the most is that of Geoff Wiech. Geoff got a chance to pitch in the game on Tuesday and I have to say that he has very good stuff. His fastball has good velocity and good movement, his curve is big and slow like John Ratkauskas (just pokin’ some fun Johnnie) and he has a nice cutter and a change-up. If Geoff can keep consistent he will become another valuable chip in the poker game I like to call baseball.

The problems that reared their ugly heads most often last year were a lack of timely hitting and sloppy defense at times. From what I’ve seen, this season looks like it will be an improvement on both fronts. The additions of Rob Linn and Dana Levensalar will bolster a line up that already includes the likes of Chris Deane, Andy “Deuce” McCallister, Josh McDonnell , Jackie Owens and John Ratkauskas. From what I have seen so far, these additions will give the McKay Club more of a chance to drive in runs on a consistent basis.

Everyone involved in the pitching staff last year will tell you that the defensive play created sleepless nights and headaches for all involved in the game. The McKay Club used a lot of different combinations in the infield last year and I think that was the root of the problem defensively. This season, we have players who are committed to showing up and want to play baseball the way it is supposed to be played. The nicest addition to the defense I have seen has been shortstop Jay Suoto all the way from friggin’ New Bedford. If he’s not dedicated, then I don’t know who is. What I have seen from him in the infield impresses me very much. He has good hands and foot work and his throws to first are accurate. Between him, Josh McDonnell and Dan Ciocca, the McKay Club seems to have a good core of middle infielders.

The outfield defense was good last year and it has become even better with the addition of Dana Levensalar, who will prove to increase the depth of the outfield tremendously. Dana will contribute this season in all facets of the game, including pitching, fielding, and hitting. He will also prove to be a veteran presence on our bench and out on the field. I think I speak for everyone on the team when I say that I welcome the addition of Dana with open arms.

The overall ability of the McKay Club has been heightened over the last year in all facets of the game. Our pitching staff is deeper and more experienced, our offense is now well-balanced, and our defense has been upgraded in key areas. Not only that, but our overall team comradery will improve dramatically with the introduction of our new team sponsor Tom English, owner of the Tom English Pubs in South Boston and Dorchester. This sponsor gives us a chance to spend more time together and become more of family than just a team. I am looking forward to more laughs and more continuity, but most importantly, I am looking forward to more wins for the McKay Club Beacons in 2007.

Our team is poised to take the Yawkey League by storm this season.

What Are Your Expectations for the 2007 Boston Red Sox?

Expectations can be overwhelming, especially in a city full of passionate fans such as Boston. Expectations can be derived from many different aspects. Many fans set the expectations bar high when a free agent signs a bulky contract. ‘Can he live up to the worth of it’? they ask.

Expectations don’t necessarily need to be connected to the almighty dollar sign. In many cases, these expectations are modeled on previous output, albeit in the Minor Leagues or on a different team. If a Major League player can exist in one city, they must be able to exist in any city, right? Not quite so in Boston. Sorry Edgar Renteria.

Injuries can also have a vast impact on the expectations of certain athletes in this city. After injury-plagued seasons, the questions ricochet around like racquet balls as to whether expectations have changed and what to expect from these freshly-healed baseball players.

The Boston Red Sox have very high expectations coming into this season. Reading the two prominent newspapers that circulate the city, the bar is set high: World Series or Bust. With this expectation comes pressure and questions from both the media and the fans. Who knows which entity creates more chaos in this town when it comes to the Red Sox.

Every Sox player will be under a microscope this whole season, their every move caught, analyzed, talked about and then analyzed once more. But there will be some players who have more media attention and fan frenzy swirling about them for various reasons. These are The Five Sox to Watch in 2007. This list is dedicated to those particular Sox who will be watched with magnifying glasses and picked through with fine tooth combs.

Players arranged with regard to level of expectation, from the bottom up.

Josh Beckett

Questions: Can he lower his home run total and ERA?

What has he learned since last year?

With one year under his belt in the Heavy Weight division know as the AL East, Beckett’s expectations have risen from last season. This spring, Beckett has slowed his delivery for better mechanics and has thrown more curves and changes than he did all of last season. Beckett also vows to listen to his catcher more than he did last season. Beckett is confident that these changes will allow him to take his game to the next level. The bottom line is that Josh Beckett threw two 83 mile per hour changeups and started more than half of his opposing batters with a curve in his last spring start. If Beckett can keep healthy and pitch like he did in that spring game, the Red Sox will have a ace waiting in the wings when Schill moves on.

Expectations: 18 wins, 150-200 K’s and an ERA below four.

A Cy Young Award or damn close to it.

Jason Varitek

Questions: Will his bat return to pre-2006 form?

Can he handle the work load and stay healthy?

For Jason Varitek, the questions become almost endless, between learning the new pitchers, learning Japanese, working on his offensive game and staying healthy as a soon-to-be 35-year-old catcher, Varitek is inundated with questions at the start of the 2007 season. In only the second season of a four year $40 Million contract, Varitek posted five-year lows in total at-bats, total bases, batting average, hits, homeruns, runs batted in and extra base hits. Varitek is all alone atop the Games Behind the Plate as a Red Sox Catcher all-time list with over 1,000 games in his career. This doesn’t bode well for Varitek because older age and being a catcher for as long as he has brings serious and chronic (don’t you hate this word?) injury questions into the foreground. I know I’m not alone when I say that I am concerned about Jason Varitek’s ability to be a consistent bat in the Sox line-up come this season. (Even though he can handle the pitching staff better than anyone in baseball, he still needs to pull his weight in the line-up. $40 Million is $40 Million no matter what way you look at it.)

Expectations: .265 BA / .470 SLG / 14 HR / 67 RBI

135 games played and a happy pitching staff.

Coco Crisp

Questions: Can we see the Cleveland version of Coco this year?

Is he healthy enough to play 150 meaningful games in 2007?

I was as big a Coco Crisp enthusiast as anyone last spring when he was hitting the cover off the ball and started the season quite the same. One broken finger and a sub-par season later, Coco’s go-go is in question after he hit .184 with only two extra base hits in 38 at-bats this spring. Crisp denied throughout the spring that his finger and shoulder (which he hurt swinging too hard) are healthy and that he really doesn’t care what fans say about him. Perhaps Coco should have a chat with Keith Foulke before addressing the media again. Crisp can return to the form he was in at Cleveland if he is 100% healthy to begin the season. As Red Sox fans we should see more stolen bases from Crisp than last year due to his spot (eighth) in the line-up. Newfound freedom should equal more stolen bases and less pressure to perform at the top of the line-up.

Expectations: .285 BA, 30-35 SB, 16 HR, 68 RBI

A healthy season in centerfield and in both batting boxes.

J.D. Drew

Questions: Can he play 150 games a year?

Does he have the mindset to play in Boston?

J.D. Drew has flown under the radar this spring because of a certain player receiving considerable notoriety for his arrival to the team. Flying under the radar seems to be one of Drew’s favorite past times, along with being patient at the plate and quiet in the club house. All of that will just be water cooler talk if he can stay healthy and be that safety net behind Ortiz and Ramirez that the Red Sox have lacked since Kevin Millar had a productive season here in 2003 (25 homeruns and 96 RBI). The presence of Drew in the line-up brings a left-right-left counter balance to the 3-4-5 meat and potatoes of the line-up and optimistically brings up the RBI production of a five-spot in the batting order that ranked near the bottom of the league in 2006.

Expectations: A healthy (150 games played) season, with more to come.

.280 BA/.400 OBP/20-25 homeruns/ 100 RBI’s

Daisuke Matsuzaka

Questions: Can he learn enough to stay ahead of the hitter’s learning curve?

Will the pressure of the Media / Fans take a toll on him?

Arguably the player with the highest expectations coming into 2007, Matsuzaka has more questions surrounding him than a Bar Exam. Anybody who has followed Dice-K Mania this spring knows what it has been like. Matsuzaka seems to have taken most of it in stride aside from the silent treatment after five innings of no-hit spring training ball. I have watched Matsuzaka start twice this spring and he has allowed one hit and thrown at least one gyro ball. I think. Maybe. The comparisons to Pedro Martinez are right there in front of you. Ability to change speeds and movement on changeup? Check. Ability to dial the fastball up when needed? Check and check. Ability to bewilder batters and send them away talking to themselves? So far, so good. Matsuzaka has been in the spot light most of his adult life so I don’t see the increased media attention being a problem.

Expectations: 18-7 W-L / 3.40 ERA / 200 IP / 179 K

As with Beckett, Cy Young consideration and health (30 starts).

Daisuke Impresses again...

Monday March 26 is usually just another day of spring training. Not for Red Sox fans such as myself. Daisuke Matsuzaka is taking the mound today for a his second-to-last start before his regular season-debut in Kansas City.

The weather here in Boston is crappy, but in my heart it feels 85 and sunny because I know how good Dice-K is.

1:08: First pitch to Julio Lugo. Lugo is down 0-2 and grounds the ball to who else but Alex Gonzalez. And he boots it! Why do I feel a tiny sense of happiness from this?

1:10: Why are the Sox players hacking away at the first and second pitch? OBP doesn’t mean anything? I seem to think otherwise. Also, Jason Varitek is colder than a block of ice in Hudson Bay. He just struck out looking on three pitches and the announcers mention that Varitek hopes the calls go both ways today. Very in depth.

1:14: There are more cameras behind the plate capturing Matsuzaka than at the Emmys and Grammys combined. Jesus.

1:16: To go along with every possible camera angle, Matsuzaka shows us all how to walk the leadoff hitter. Early on, Matsuzaka does not have good control. 3-0 to Adam Dunn. Green light? Yup. Luckily, just a fly ball to some guy named Scales playing in Manny’s spot. Ahh, spring training.

1:20: The language barrier rears its head as a pitch out turns into a changeup that rolls to the back stop. Why can’t we all just speak English and be happy?

1:23: Can ESPN stop with the behind the plate 100 feet high camera angle? I can’t see anything except the umpire and some specks on the field and mound. 1^st inning over, one walk, one passed ball and thee outs later, D-Mat is….just a pitcher, so calm down Japanese media.

I love these ‘got an MLB mindset?’ commercials, with the fish guy swinging through a full grown salmon with some oversize version of a crow bar, spraying everyone with fishy entrails. Very creative I must say. It certainly makes me want to play MLB 2007.

1:29: I have seen a steady diet of ground balls to third by Dustin Pedroia this spring. Some hard hit balls, yes, but I need to see more of him before I trust he can hit a solid .270 - .290 in this league. As I say this, the sox go 1-2-3 again in quick, painless fashion. More line drives up the middle would make me feel a lot better. It seems as though he is trying to pull everything and trying too hard still. Can mike Lowell talk to him or something? The fatherly presence that he is said to be in the club house and all.

John Sciambi and Rick Sutcliffe are our announcers du jour. Sciambi looks like he could be Mark McGuire’s long lost pudgy little brother while Rick Sutcliffe is doing a commendable job so far.

1:33: The announcers keep saying that they are surprised how Dice-K works differently than American pitchers. Well, this just in: he’s Japanese! Edwin Encarnacion just K’d on a filthy little curve ball. Nice to see.

Can ESPN please cut out the top-of-the-stadium camera angle? I think I’m going to be sick.

1:40: Another out, another K for Dice-K on old friend Alex Gonzalez. 93 mph fastball on the outside corner, and once again the announcers call Dice-K a breaking ball pitcher with a 95 mph fastball. Okaaaaay, this is news to me...

1:42: How do you record a catcher’s interference in the book? How do you say catcher’s interference in Japanese? Maybe Jason Varitek has it on his NFL playbook style wristband.

1:43: 44 pitches thru 2 innings? Not too good, even though Dice-K has not allowed a hit. I don’t think he has anyways. What the hell does catcher’s interference count as? Someone contact Alias for me. Apparently, it counts as an error. Oops. And I thought I knew baseball.

1:47: Here’s a tidbit of trivia for you ... who led the NL in strikeouts last season? How many guesses would it take for you to say Aaron Harang with 216?

1:48: That Scales guy just squirted a single through the left side for the first hit of the day. Dice-K looks pretty lost at the plate trying to get a bunt down. Bobby Livingston, the starter for the Reds did not get the memo about Matsuzaka not swinging as he walked him on five pitches.

1:58: Why am I worried about pitch counts when the man on the mound doesn’t ice his arm and plays 300 foot long toss? A man who once threw 17 consecutive innings as a high school pitcher and who throws 100 pitch bullpens like they are child’s play. Aside from that, he does have three walks so far, but it seems like he’s getting a tiny bit squeezed by the boys in blue. Call me a homer…..

2:05: Would Jason Varitek circa 2004 please stand up, please stand up….two K’s in 2 ugly at bats for ‘The Eighteenth Captain in Red Sox History!’ Did he really fall off the hitting plateau that far in so short a time period? He worries me coming into the season, even if he is healthy and “ready.”

2:13: Three straight breaking balls miss high after a three pitch strike out as Scott Hatterberg flies out on a 3-1 count to coco. D-Mat will not get away with 3-1 fastballs for a long time in this league. If he falls behind 3-1 consistently, the home run total will inflate and we won’t be talking about D-Mat the phenom, we’ll be talking about D-Mat the gopher ball generator.

2:21: 4 innings, 4 K’s, 4 walks, no hits and about 700 pitches thrown. According to Rick Sutcliffe, Dice-K is not happy with him self and keeps slapping his ball and his leg. Maybe ‘Cliffer is another one of those expert body-language readers like all the guys on The Big Show of WEEI.

2:27: “Cliffer and John Sciambi commend Bobby Livingston of his great outing so far, capped off by a strike out of the best power hitter in the sox line-up, Daisuke Matsuzaka. What a job indeed.

2:32: Matsuzaka has thrown 90 pitches and he’s not out of the fifth inning. Worrisome, yes, but he hasn’t given up a hit yet, which is not so worrisome. And he just struck out another Reds batter.

2:34: D-Mat must be intimidated by the massive size of Adam Dunn because he has trouble throwing strikes to him. Sort of. I wonder if he ever saw anyone that big in the Japanese premier league. D-Mat walks Dunn again, his fifth of the afternoon.

2:36: I think I just spotted the gyro ball! Sutcliffe said that Brandon Phillips swung and missed at a fastball, but he was ahead of it. Way ahead of it. How do you get ahead of a first pitch fastball that is usually around 92 – 95 mph? He struck him out with the fast ball, but without sounding like a whack job that supposedly got abducted by a UFO, that WAS the gyro ball. I’m now a believer. Formerly a skeptic, now a believer. Question: would Tito leave Dice-K in the game even with the 100 pitches because he has a spring training no-no going? Probably not, but its fun to ponder isn’t it?

2:46: We are now watching Matsuzaka run his poles across the warning track as John Sciambi cracks a joke that we are now running into the bottom of the sixth. I love spring training announcers.

A business man steals a base across a busy city street, finishes with a pop-up slide in front of a pudgy Asian man and that, is another ‘MLB 2007: The Show’ advertisement. God, I want to play that game wicked bad right now. I want to slide on the side walk and hit a fish with a crow bar.

2:50: Bottom six, Jonathan Papelbon is now pitching for the Sox. So much for the no-hitter. I could get used to this scenario: Matsuzaka for eight innings, Papelbon for one, as Papelbon K’s Junior Griffey for the first out. One can only dream.

2:54: Papelbon hangs a slider that is nothing but a long out to that Scales guy once again. Scales has gotten the most face time in this running journal, aside from Dice-K. Too bad he won’t make the opening day roster. Inning over, 1-2-3. One K and another no-hit inning in the books. Too bad the sox only have one more hit than the Reds do.

3:03: Griffey junior just wished Barry Bonds the best of luck in his chase for the all-time homerun record. Why do a huge percentage of major league hitters feel the need to back up Barry Bonds, even when they must know his head and feet have grown as much as his testicles have shrunk?

3:07: Craig Hansen enters the game as I hold my breath. He doesn’t have a drip of confidence in himself right now. Maybe a hair cut would do him some good because he looks like Johnny Damon circa 2005

3:11: Rick Sutcliffe doesn’t think the Red Sox can hang with the Yanks yet. He doesn’t feel like they have taken the necessary steps. What an Ass.

3:13: Hansen is officially in a jam. Base hit, broken bat single, hit by pitch and just one out. Another hit batter and Hansen is officially psyched out. I can’t imagine what’s going through his mind right now.

3:16: The wheels are officially off. Base on balls equals another run for the Reds. Why does the name Rick Ankiel come to mind and why am I all of the sudden cold?

3:20: Another walk and another run. U-g-l-y. Hansen is pulled, thankfully. His line: 2/3 IP, 2 hits, 2 HBP, 2 BB, 2 K, 5 ER and one case of insomnia for every sox fan who has faith in “The Kids.”

3:26: 5-0 Cincy in the eighth as the game is pretty much over and I could care less, but Kyle Snyder is pitching and he could grab a final spot in the Sox ‘pen, so I watch with vested interest….sort of. Inning over, 5-0 Cincinnati.

3:31: Could Rick Sutcliffe please mention again that he loves the way Matsuzaka “spins the baseball”? He’s only mentioned it about 17 times and to tell you the truth, it doesn’t take a Harvard scholar to know that every pitcher spins the ball. Have I mentioned that I love the spring training announcers on ESPN?

Game over, as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Boston Red Sox 5-0 in a fun-to-watch spring training game. Daisuke Matsuzaka’s final line: 5 IP, 0 H, 5 BB, 6 K and about 100 pitches thrown.

The bottom line here is that Matsuzaka faced the opening day roster for the Reds and did not allow a hit over five innings. His control was not spectacular, but he obviously pitched well enough to keep a major league line-up subdued.